[center][h2]Shall We Take a Turn?[/h2]
Themerlinhawk & Wind Wild
[i]Lazarus, Akime[/i] 

Day 3, Evening[/center]



The High Necromancer’s foot tapped along to the Violin player’s music as he sat against the railing of Blackwing just off the dance floor. It had been a lengthy day but it had been surprisingly fun for Lazarus. Shard had been married, there had been food he hadn’t had in too long and he’d finally got to see the whole of the Tower out in force. Nursing his glass of brandy Lazarus peered through the crowd. Unfortunately he knew very few of the Knights now and few approached him; understandably so.

A familiar face appeared as Akime appeared from one of the Cabins. For a moment he paused considering what the plan was. With a shrug Lazarus crossed behind the dance floor and approached the Mistress of Sight. Watching her steps and her demeanor he could tell she had been drinking  a little. With a smile and a chuckle Lazarus downed the rest of his drink. With practiced ease he set the tumbler down on a table and glided through the cool mild night air and walked up to Akime. “Having fun?” 

Akime spun around and had to grab the rail to stop herself from making a full circle. She tried to make it look casual and hide it behind wide, sparkly grin. “Heeeeyy there,” he greeted. “It’s nice to see you looking all pink-cheeked and smiley.” Was he pink-cheeked and smiley? Whatever, he looked good, she liked him. And she’d been missing him, although she’d denied it last time had felt as close to a date as it got for her and here everyone was either taken or flirting and she couldn’t find him when she’d meant to—
 
She realised she’d been staring at the edge of his lips, where that small dimple was, and her eyes fell to his chest. “Oh. You’re actually wearing one of those!” She put her hands out and bowed slightly. “I’m [b]sooooooo[/b] sorry about that, that was so inappropriate! I hope you didn’t take it the wrong way, I didn’t mean to…” She fell quiet, rubbing her hands together and trying not to blush, stare OR grin. He did look great though. 

“I appreciated it.” Lazarus stepped in and took her arms with gentle casual grace. Perhaps a little more inebriated than he thought but it was certainly interesting to see her like this. With a gentle tug he lead her safely away from the railing. “I had no idea what is in so I was very relieved to see you sent me a set of suits.” His steps took the two of them a bit further from the dance floor and away from the noise and the general light of Blackwing. Letting the cool air brush against the two of them Lazarus smiled and released her arm making sure she didn’t go towards a railing.

“How much have you had to drink” He gave her a teasing smile.

[i]Like a princess~[/i] she thought as she was led away. She liked the way he walked. Had she said that already? Ah, no, it’s one of those things you’re not supposed to say.
 
When they came to a stop Akime puffed a strand of hair off her face and rolled her eyes simultaneously with a dismissive hand-gesture that almost swatted him in the face. Then she grinned again – perhaps she thought a grin could excuse anything? “Too much? Not enough? Who can say what’d appropriate and what isn’t?” She gathered up her skirts of her [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/99/3e/da/993edafd913f3ba73156b0e511063aa9.jpg]golden dress[/url] and sat cross-legged on the deck, leaning on the rail. “If we cared about social conventions, we wouldn’t be talking. And Christian and Catherine wouldn’t be married. Seriously, whoever follows the rules is a sucker!” She shrugged, frowning at her feet. Then she sighed and threw her head back to look up at him. “And how much have you had to drink? Enough to say “fuck it” to social conventions too? I mean, you did just look at a bridesmaid’s cleavage.” He hadn’t but she knew that as soon as she’d said it, he would look. The grin turned into a giggle that shook her shoulders violently but she tried to silence it with a hand over her mouth. 
 
In an attempt at humor Lazarus stood on tiptoes and with no stealth looked right down her dress. “No I haven’t had enough; but I think I like you sufficiently to follow your lead. And I don’t know either so don’t ask what is too much.” With a chuckle Lazarus kicked off his shoes and walked barefoot across the deck and acquired a decanter of liquor and a pair of glasses. Flopping down next to her he offered her a glass and then filled it with a small amount of the crystal blue liquor. Filling his own glass with slightly more he started sipping at it.

“I think rules are for those who aren’t allowed to break them.” Lazarus reached up and pulled her hair back away from her face and tucked it behind her shoulders. Meeting her look he grinned. “Just incase you decide to throw up. It would suck to get it in your hair.” With that he settled in next to her and rested his shoulder against hers gently. 

Akime’s eyebrows rose in disbelief as he said he hadn’t had enough while he peered down her cleavage but then he went to get some alcohol and she realised what he’d meant. She felt reassured that he reached out to touch her despite all the reasons why he shouldn’t and shook her head violently as he explained why. “Oh nooo, puke in hair? Nonononono.” The woman hurried to gather her hair up in a loose bob that she held up with a cocktail stick someone had dropped, then took a sip of her new drink. It tasted oddly fresh, of spring clouds and morning dew.
 
“I like your way of thinking.” She uttered thoughtfully. She also liked that he wasn’t scared to touch her (any more) and that he’d taken his shoes off but didn’t say it. He was bizarre, puzzling, but that’s what made him intriguing. “Who would have thought we’d come so far, huh? Considering the war, all we’ve been through, our very nature. I wonder how many times Christian thought it was hopeless and thought about ending it all. I wonder what made Raven leave and what made her come back. I’ll probably never know. But isn’t it wonderful how life works like that? You never know what you’re gonna get tomorrow and sometimes it’s better, and sometimes it’s worse, but it’s always unpredictable.” She probably wasn’t making a lot of sense but she suspected that around him she didn’t need to. Still, she decided to elaborate. 

“I’d never thought I could enjoy life so much away from my homeland. Let alone with half the Stygian elite. But I think it’s wonderful that we can disregard the past. It made us who we are but maybe we can be ourselves despite it too.” She took a long cool sip of the alcohol and looked to Lazarus.

With a laugh Lazarus nudged her “You’re for sure drunk typically you make sense.” With a shift he adjusted so she could lean up against him. Swirling the drink in his tumbler he took another drink of it pushing himself further along. “Was your home all that great anyway? My understanding is that things didn’t go super great while you were there.” 

Lazarus left the topic to sit not wanting to press too much “I honestly think that the fact we survived the war is indicative that we were cursed to live interesting lives.” Chuckling Lazarus looked up at the sky and its dancing auroras. “And for the record I don’t think Christian has even contemplated anything other than living for an eternity. I personally don’t understand it but Christian really doesn’t view the world the same way that the rest of us do. He really is more force of nature than anything else. Just sweeping things like fear and concern along in the wake of his joy and anger. I don’t think I could have gone a thousand years without that.”

Stopping abruptly Lazarus suddenly downed the liquor in one solid swallow and refilled his glass; continuing to drink regularly from it to give himself an excuse not to talk anymore. Careful to avoid Akime’s eyes.

Akime shrugged in response to being drunk and took note of trying to be more coherent. “Home is…. Well, home. You only ever get one, right? Originally, I mean. The one where you get to be innocent and away from it all. And it's not great but it's yours, people know you, you know them… then it's different when you leave, you have to make people notice you to kill some of the loneliness.” she took a long sip, contemplating. There was so much she wanted to say but she couldn't, not now. “I'm not like Christian, I can't just ignore it. But you know, he feels it too, I'm sure he does. The times I've seen him sit on the edge of his tower, searching for Raven among the stars... I think the only real difference is that he wouldn't think of jumping. Not because it didn't hurt enough for him to.” Akime made a long pause and untangled her legs across and wiggled her toes to give herself something to look at. Where were her shoes? Lazarus’ chest supporting her felt warm and soft and really really good. “But you're right. He probably doesn't see the world the same way. Life and death not as struggles and escapes but just as beginnings and ends. He lives in the moment and maybe that's the best thing he can teach us all. We spend too long in our heads and too little looking out.” She pointed at the sky, her head leaning on his shoulder as she looked up, her hair tickling his face. The distant music, the warmth of his body against the playful breeze, the dance of the auroras and his heart beating next to hers. “This is true happiness.” She muttered with a smile. 

Lazarus nodded in agreement as he very gently moved the offending strand of her hair away from his face. “I have to wonder if he wanted to leave with her when Raven left. I never could understand why he didn’t. Not to say that I don’t think that the Tower was an incredible endeavour.” Looking up at the sky he smiled. “I think Shard wanted to see the stars as well; so I’ve never understood why he left.” With another drink he caught the last muttering as she lay against him. 

“I’m glad you think so, the single moments we have are the most important. Sometimes I wish I was the avatar of Faros so that I could dictate how long the moments lasted.” With a small laugh he set his glass down on the deck and looked down at her. “Where are your companions? You are forever with others, why not now?”

“Oh, you've noticed?” She glanced up. “They're busy catching up with old friends or making new ones. Cole, the tall one with the white hair, is ‘copulating’, and with Titania nonetheless. Amber is having a little conversation and  a checkup with Croweater. And Ibuki is catching up with some old friends and acquaintances from all over, surely looking for more work for us. Sometimes they don't want me around, and frankly, sometimes I don't want them around either. And how about you? Are you reconnecting with people? And actually...” She turned slightly to catch his eyes. “.. what about the Twilight council? Are they after you or have they accepted defeat?”

Lazarus eyes practically popped out of his head at the name Tatiana. “God’s bellow are you serious?!” Bursting into laughter he leaned back against the rail. “That woman is actually insane I don’t know how she does it but once a year she drinks Vulture under the table. Which by the way; that is why Crow has that thing following him around. Yishreenok cursed the Demon who was sent to collect Tatiana’s soul when it failed to do so. As a result Vulture was sent to tutor Crow and be at his beck and call. Kinda funny in my opinion.” With that he shifted her a little closer and looked back down at her. “I don’t know about the Twilight Council anymore. Their presence in Galendar is so sporadic. The Stygian Blade has lost so much influence here lately that I doubt they have much capacity to act anymore. That is unless they want to appear in the mortal world Shard and Raven proved how dangerous that is for them.”


Akime shook her head with a small smile, bemused by Lazarus’ stories of people’s antics and said people’s antics and said Lazarus’ knowledge of them. She still didn’t want to ask about what got him imprisoned in the first place but it was good to know that he felt safe here with them all. 

Eyes drifting over the crowd on Blackwing’s shoulders, Akime had to agree with the desire he’d expressed. It would be so great to be able to stop time and experience this bliss for longer than it would naturally last. She reached to her drink again, content to just sit there, under the stars, in his arms. 

“You know what we are doing here is dangerous right?” Lazarus finally seriously met her eyes. “I’m not going to deny how I feel about you in the short time we’ve been together.” With that he turned Akime to face him as he settled her in front of him and stroked her hair out of her face. It occurred to him that this could for sure be the alcohol but it was like she’d grown more beautiful the more he got to look at her. This could go so sideways so quickly and yet his feelings were so much more potent than his reason right now.

“I want to see where this goes. I think that I’ve wondered if I’d see you again from the day we met and here we are now. Years later. Shard’s disregard of the consequences of pursuing what he wants is more than enough push for me to say this.” He gently took her face in his hand. “I don’t know how safe it would be for us to be together but I’m willing to at least try if you feel the same way. If not I certainly understand. There are so many reason to not do this.”

Akime’s eyes widened and only kept widening as his speech, verbal and physical, progressed. It came like lightning from a clear sky but not because she hadn’t secretly wished it could happen. He’d left an impression the first time they’d met, yet it was the second time that was truly her downfall. After that day out his face had haunted her and it’d taken anything in her to stop herself from seeing him again. But she knew her reputation and the way men reacted to her, as if she was more monster than human, and hadn’t dared even dream he’d return her feelings.
 
So she’d denied it, for a week now, convincing herself she was just a pathetic and desperate old woman and that she should have the grace to admit defeat and accept that she’d die alone with her cats and… griffins.
 
But in reality she had hoped that maybe, just maybe…
 
She hadn’t been able to get him out of her head all week. This couldn’t actually be happening, right? He was probably just really drunk, or she was wasted under a table and dreaming. Or maybe it was a trap laid by Yishreenok?
 
The thought slowly turned her surprised expression into a huge, almost manic grin that spilled over her face like the tide covering the scars in the sand. She took the hand that was on her face and pressed it against the deck gently, holding him in place as she leaned in to taste his lips. And the stars went out and the voices faded and it just felt… right. Her eyelids fluttered open again and the smile was deep in her golden eyes, lighting them from within. “You are right, it’s so dangerous, even outrageous, and we should be two mature and reasonable adults… We should give up. Never meet again. Forget the other existed. Perhaps even kill each other, for good measure?” Her mouth spoke and her eyes screamed [i]I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care![/i]

Lazarus gave her a flat look. “Oh please. I am Death. There is no way I could kill you or myself.” With that he leaned back in for another kiss. This one was longer and far slower and he pressed into her. Slowly working her lips before slipping his arms around her waist and pulled her fully into his lap. 

“For the record I am not drunk enough for you to write this off as me being drunk.” With a wink Lazarus wrapped the night around them wiping their souls from the visible realm with ease as he surrounded them in shadows. Pulling the woman fully on top of him  he tangled his hands in her hair as he pulled her into a much more forceful kiss. Hooking his legs around her he grinned. “If we keep this up we’ll need to move someplace a bit more concealed.”

 "You. If [i]you[/I] keep it up." She corrected, but her kisses were just as heated and her body didn't shy away from his. She was running a hand down his back, feeling the tension of his body. She could build it up still. "So stop." She teased. "You don't even know what you're getting into. You should read the small print before you put your mark down."

Really, they should stop. She could feel the blanket of his essence covering them but it didn't erase them from existence and what they were thinking right now was hardly appropriate. But the question was could they really go back to talking now. Threaterus thoughts of escaping to the fae realm played in her mind but she didn't make a move, not pulling away either, just staring at him, wondering still if stopping now wouldn't mean stopping forever.

“Oh yes it’s all me” Lazarus voice dripped playful sarcasm as he stared up at her. “You know I don’t care about any fine print. If you don’t think right now is a good time to continue this we can always finish later” With a wink he leaned in for a final kiss before pulling her into his lap. “You know. We could always go for a dance if you’d like. Might be fun”

Lazarus left the offer hanging as a way for her to escape the sudden halt she’d put on where things were going. It wasn’t blame because they probably shouldn’t have continued so openly. 

“Advantage?” She chuckled, the word “mercy” clawing on her mind. “I think it makes you ugly and slow.” Hazumi
 
Akime pondered for a long moment and actually had to pull away from him in an attempt of thinking straight again. Sitting opposite, she considered him and the glasses beside them and the paper lanterns of Blackwing… Somehow everything seemed different. A new door had opened and let life and colour flood back into her world.

If that’s how Christian and Raven felt right now, she couldn’t be happier for them.

“Yes, let’s dance.” She smiled, getting to her (somewhat wobbly) feet. That should make it easier to keep away, right? A slight blush found her cheeks at the thought that maybe she should have put up more of a fight, along with the nagging feeling that she didn’t really deserve him. But then, if she was completely honest he might not want to give her a chance. And she did want a chance, with him. “Are you sure about this?” She asked one last time. It was a serious question but she tried to make it light by adding. “Would daddy approve? We don’t want Vulture to poop in your hair while you sleep.”

The look that Lazarus gave Akime was as sure as death itself. “I am incredibly sure. I don’t know if I loved before I lost my memories but I’ve always wanted to try.” This was such a strange feeling for him; after all Death couldn’t love. Could it? Perhaps this wasn't what that was but he was certainly going to take it as far as he could. 

Leaning in close to Akime’s ear he whispered gently “I don’t care. I’ve lived in fear of The Grand Lich for too long. It can’t take this from me and It won’t ruin this night for me either.” With that he lead Akime to the dance floor and caught her hands smoothly as the musician’s started their next set. Out of the corner of his eye Lazarus caught the approach of the wedding couple to the floor. It seemed their timing was perfectly timed. All eyes would be on Raven and Christian so Akime’s drunken state would go unnoticed and less eyebrows would be raised at the unlikely couple.